De-bunking the myths of English Cookery
One delicious recipe at a time

Recipes that are delicious and that always work!

You know these recipes are delicious because if I didn't think that they were fabulous . . . I wouldn't be showing them to you. You can also be sure that these recipes work for the same reason! The rest is simply a matter of taste.

Butter, Sugar, Eggs and Such . . .

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Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 14 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past twelve years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Marie Rayner cooks and writes from a little terraced house where she lives with her man the Toddster, and their little pup Mitzie.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What to eat now!

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A lot of you have suggested that I write a cookbook. The good news is I already have. Recipes From The Big Blue Binder. A delicious sampling of all my tried and trues, and family favourites gleaned from a lifetime of love and good cookin'! Find such favourites asBanana Granola Pancakes, Mom's Split Pea Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, and Grammy Woodworth's Blueberry Buckleto name but a few. 178 pages of delicious recipes and beautiful colour pictures, available as a lovely book or as a download. You can click on the book to go to my storefront to purchase. If you already own it, please feel free to leave feedback on my Lulu page. Thanks so much!

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Thursday, 15 November 2012

Sometimes we like to have breakfast for supper.
On the weekends, we might splurge and have a big breakfast on occasion, but more normal than not . . . we have a big breakfast for supper . . . and by that I mean bacon and eggs, or sausage and eggs, or egg chips and beans, egg and chips, or even a full on proper fry up! (I thought I had done a traditional proper English fry up on here before, but it appears I haven't. so look forward to a post on that soon!)

Today I decided to make us some sausage and eggs for our tea, but not the normal banger type of sausage. Today I wanted to make my own breakfast type of sausage patties. You can buy bulk sausage meat at the shops . . . and you can use that to make breakfast sausages with, and many use it to make traditional stuffing with at Christmas time. I don't really like it though . . . it's a bit too pasty for my liking . . . probably full of fillers and bread. I like to make my own.

It's not all that hard you know . . . and when you make your own, you know exactly what it in it. Mine is purely meat and some seasonings . . . not a filler in sight.
I like to flavour mine with the traditional flavours of sage and thyme, and then I add a nice jot of black pepper and cayenne pepper for just a bit of a bite. Garlic adds another depth of flavour . . . not too much, mind . . . just one clove.

I am a Canuck . . . and so I like to add just a touch of Maple syrup. It reminds me of the Maple sausages we can get back home . . . yummo! A bit of salt for seasoning . . . and Bob's your Uncle!!

These are great to make ahead of time and freeze. Then you can take out as many or as few as you like at any given time, which makes them a great make ahead for the upcoming holidays! I hope you will give them a try and that you will like them as much as we do. Just make sure you use not too lean a ground pork. If it's too lean, they won't stay together . . . and like most things, a bit of fat only adds to the scrumminess.

This isn't your traditional British Banger, stuffed into a snappy skin . . . but a homemade version, delicately spiced, lightly flavoured with Maple and shaped into patties for easy frying. They are perfect for those special breakfasts which you are going to be cooking over the coming holiday season, as you can mix them up, shape them and then freeze them for up to a month, so they are ready when you need them. Be sure to use a ground pork mix which has a nice balance of fat in it. If your pork is too lean, they won't hold together properly.

2 pounds of ground pork

1 TBS of pure Maple Syrup

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced

2 tsp of dried sage rubbed and crumbled

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme, rubbed and crumbled

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 TBS butter for cooking

Combine the ground pork, syrup, garlic, spices and seasoning together in a large bowl, using your hands and mixing together gently. Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out and shape the mixture into 16 equally sized round patties, and pressing them flat for cooking. (To do this I place them on a plastic cling film lined baking sheet, cover them with another sheet of cling film, top with another baking sheet and press them gently to 1/2 inch thickness.

Once you have shaped your patties, you can either wrap them individually and freeze them in a tightly covered container for up to one month or cook as follows.

Melt 1 TBS of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter begins to foam, add the patties and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes per side, until cooked through (the juices run clear) and nicely browned. Transfer to a slow oven to keep warm while you cook the rest. Serve hot.

Note: This mixture can also be crumbled and cooked and used for breakfast casseroles

4 comments:

I want to see a full breakfast fry-up!!! I always think of hobbits when I read about those breakfast feasts... It's the fried tomatoes. They fry tomatoes in the Hobbit. And that Elf bread makes me think of scones... The denser, crunchier kind... Lol, only I could get food memories out of JRR Tolkien!! Anyway, back on subject. Breakfast. I must learn it. I'd love to make it for the in-laws, or my Dad... I'd feel just a smidge more English... Maybe we shouldn't come visit, Stephen may never be able to convince me to leave!! Enough rambling. I adore you, and your sausages! :)~April

Heh, April (above) is so funny! I can't wait till somebody *else* here reads The Hobbit so that we may make food that is like the book ... right now it would be yet another painful inside (my head) thing that nobody else would understand ...

Anyhow, my middle child is a freak for all things fried and somewhat greasy (in that good kind of way) and breakfast sausage is one of them. I've been trying to give way a little and answer their cries to cook in my kitchen (I started at 4 myself but dislike the noise and chaos) ... and this recipe matched the veggies from my CSA so out we went to pick up the pork. I had to use fresh thyme and sage from the sad fall garden (but those herbs are in such good form) and it all worked out rather excellently. And bangers and mash is one of my husband's favourite meals, so success all around, especially because my 8 year old was willing to hand-mix the sausage meat, form the patties (great idea about the measuring cup, btw) and fry them to perfection. The 5 year old made mash, or rather did about .5 of the work.

So thanks. Sorry for the long story, but we appreciated the sausages that much.

I love this! I have a strong aversion to processed sausage because my parents bought the nasty, cheap stuff when I was a child. It never occurred to me that I could make my own sausage with a bit of ground pork and seasonings ... naive but true! Thanks so much for sharing your creative and inspiring ideas. Btw, I love both of your blogs because I can never decide if you're better for my belly or my soul. :)

Due to increased interest, I have decided to offer my illustrated cookbooklets on a permanent basis. At present there are five on offer, but I will be adding to them from time to time so do check back often. You can find them all by clicking on the COOKBOOKLET heading above. I think you will find that they are good value for money spent and they make delightful and economical gifts for your friends and family. Thanks so much for looking!

They are titled: A Very Royal Tea Party, The Great British Picnic, Christmas in The English Kitchen, Recipes to Keep, and Spring into Summer.

All are recipes that you will not find on my blog anywhere.

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I can't pretend to know everything, but I more than welcome your questions and suggestions. Feel free to e-mail me on MarieAliceJoan at aol dot com and I'll endeavour to find out the answers to your most burning questions. Maybe we can learn together!